Riegel
Riegel is a Martian minifigure who appeared in the Life on Mars theme. He was the leader of the Martians. He has appeared as a physical minifigure in just one set, although he has appeared in two video games. Background Riegel is the leader of the Martians (at least the known ones, he claims to be leader of all Martians). He has been their leader for a long time, possibly over fifty years (based off the fact that Arcturus was said to be the leader sixty years ago). He is also the General of the Aero Tube Hangar, a Biodium mining outpost. He has a daughter, Cassiopeia. He tries his best to motivate all the Martians, and he dislikes laziness and disorder. His favorite foods are Space Slugs (possibly Slimy Slugs) and "Caviack". When the Solar Explorer and its crew landed on Mars, Riegel was fighting against the Canyon Martians, who were stealing all the Biodium at the Aero Tube Hangar. If it kept up, Riegel would have to surrender not just the base, but all of Mars! Initially, Riegel was suspicious of the humans, putting them through tests, as he first believed that they may be invaders (the Martians were annoyed with the probes Earth had been sending), or dumb "test animals". They were able to prove themselves in the end by exposing the spy and stopping the Canyon Martians. Riegel recogized the humans as allies and friends, even allowing his daughter to return to Earth with them. In the January-February 2001 issue of LEGO Mania Magazine, he was described as such: "Reigel is the royal ruler of the red planet. Just like the star he is named for, Reigel is a giant star of the Martians. Riegel is a tough leader who keeps everyone digging for biodium." LEGO Racers 2 Riegel appeared as a boss in LEGO Racers 2. Notably, instead of driving a car, Riegel drove his mech in his race against the player, saying that he didn't actually mention that his vehicle was a car. After being defeated by the player, Riegel storms off, kicking his mech. The shield generator then falls off of the mech. Sparky then tells the player that "Riegel probably won't mind if we borrow this". This allows the player to advance to the next world. Despite his outburst at the end of the race, Riegel returned on Xalax when the player defeats Rocket Racer, congratulating the player for his achievements, along with all of the other racers that the player has defeated one-on-one. Soccer Mania Reigel also appeared in the video game Soccer Mania, he appears as an unlockable footballer if the player completes the final stage in the Skill Zone mode. Notes * Though called Rigel several times, Riegel is actually the most common spelling of his name. This is odd, since the star he is named after is spelled Rigel. * Riegel is one of only two martians to have a different skin colour than Dark Turquoise, the other being Arcturus. * In the PC version of LEGO Racers 2, Rigel has Dark Turquoise skin, and no insignia on his chest. * Riegel's mech appears to be a modified (and much larger) version of 7313 Red Planet Protector. Riegel's mech, due to its shield generator, is immune to all of the player's weapons within races (altough explosion placed on road can slow him), but he can't pick them up either. Interestingly, in the GBA version of LEGO Racers 2, a green and a blue version of Rigel appears. * Many blue-coloured Riegel minifigures appear in LEGO Racers 2 in the Martian rejuvenator and guarding the warp tubes above the Martian base as spectators. Riegel minifigures pilot the Red Planet Cruiser, the Excavation Searcher, the Recon-Mech RP and a small craft. Exactly why the developers put Riegel duplicates in these places when it would have been more acurate to just use plain, generic Martians is unknown. Appearances * 7317 Aero Tube Hangar Video Game Appearances * LEGO Racers 2 * Soccer Mania Gallery Rigel.jpg|Rigel's physical minifigure Rigel.PNG|Riegel in LEGO Racers 2 Protector.PNG|Riegel's Mech in LEGO Racers 2 Rigel gba.png|The minifigure version of Riegel in the GBA version of LEGO Racers 2 Rigel gba1.png|The blue-skin version of Riegel in the GBA version of LEGO Racers 2 Rigel rejuvenate.PNG|A Riegel minifigure rejuvenating in the rejuvenator in LEGO Racers 2 Rigel pair.PNG|A pair of Riegel minifigures in front of a tube, above the Martian base in LEGO Racers 2 Rigel jump.PNG|Riegel minifigure piloting the Red Planet Cruiser in LEGO Racers 2 Rigel mecha.PNG|Riegel minifigure piloting the Excavation Searcher in LEGO Racers 2 Rigel RP.PNG|Riegel minifigure piloting the Recon-Mech RP in LEGO Racers 2 Rigel craft.PNG|Riegel minifigure piloting a small craft in LEGO Racers 2 Category:Life on Mars minifigures Category:Life on Mars Category:Minifigures introduced in 2001 Category:Racers minifigures